Hun eighth-grader heads to nationals
By: Justin Feil
Danica Roskos’ arrival to the Junior National Diving Championships came quickly, which is quite ironic given The Hun School eighth-grader’s initial hesitancy with the sport.
"Two years ago when I hurt my wrist, I stopped doing gymnastics," Roskos said. "I did it during that summer, and then went back to gymnastics. The first time I tried diving, I didn’t like it. It was just going too fast."
Two years later, Roskos finds herself in the 1-meter springboard, 3-meter springboard and 10-meter platform nationals for girls 13-and-under to be held Aug. 9 to 14 in Moultrie, Ga. Roskos qualified by being a Top 12 finisher in each event at the East Championships in Buffalo last weekend. Roskos was fifth on the 1-meter with a score of 233.35, sixth on the 3-meter with a score of 235.25 and 10th on the platform with a score of 208.50.
"My first event, platform, I wasn’t that sure I’d make it," Roskos said. "All the girls were from Florida and they do it every day. I do it once a week. Coming into zones, my 1-meter was pretty good. I was most confident in that."
On the last weekend in June, Roskos won the 1-meter at the Region 1 Championships in New Canaan, Conn., with a score of 255.85 and fifth in the 3-meter with a 200.95 despite missing one of her dives.
"I got zeros," the 13-year-old said.
That’s a rarity for Roskos, who had the second best 1-meter score in the nation for 13-and-under girls after regions. She even pushed her limits by competing in the Senior Nationals C Zone in Wisconsin over the July 4 weekend. She was 23rd in the women’s 1-meter and 28th in the girls’ 16-18 3-meter while gaining valuable experience against some tougher competition.
Roskos’ success has helped her push gymnastics, which she put much of her attention and energy into for nine years, aside in favor of year-round diving with the Blue Dolphins Junior Olympic club team. She trains five days a week at The College of New Jersey for three hours at a time.
"We said we would go slower this time," said Roskos, a Hopewell resident who recently moved from Montgomery. "I like it a lot better."
Roskos is still taking things cautiously. She’s not putting overwhelming pressure on herself for her first trip to nationals.
"I just want to do my best," she said. "Maybe I’ll do some more difficult dives."
Roskos is a fearless competitor, one who isn’t fazed even by dives from the 10-meter platform. Roskos’ gymnastics background helps her take on some of the more difficult dives, but she doesn’t plan on returning to gymnastics.
"It’s less pounding on the body," Roskos said of diving. "We decided it’s a better sport to go into."
Roskos has tried other sports like soccer and basketball, but only lacrosse has drawn above lukewarm interest. When the diving season slows in the spring, she’s able to focus more on lacrosse. But much of her time goes to diving, in which she quickly found success in her second tour of duty.
"Some of the meets I went to, I did pretty well in," Roskos said. "I felt better about it. "I’ve gotten used to what the coach wants. At first, I didn’t know what she wanted. It’s easier now that I know."
The Blue Dolphins’ Candace Gottlieb has helped mold Roskos into a top diver in the East, and with each passing week Roskos adds a little more and gets a little bit better. Now, she’ll have her chance to see where she stands in the country against her own age group.
"At nationals in the 3-meter, I’m hoping to do a front 3½," she said of her new most difficult attempt.
Roskos’ first national championships meet is just a beginning as she looks for her diving career to take off. She didn’t want to go too quickly at first, but judging by her speedy start, it looks as though Danica Roskos is already on the fast track to success.